Policy Renewal Time Again

[BrendanS]

<font color=blue>OK Q&S's. I'm not in the insurance market, so I'm not an expert, I just read a great deal, so take my answers in that light</font color=blue>

>>I appreciate that any business dependant upon the stock market will have had a rough time recently, but I do not remember a corresponding reductions in premiums when the stock market was soaring.<<

<font color=blue>The reductions were there, you just didn't see them. As I've said before, the premiums being charged, particularly in the areas like motor insurance were below sustainable levels</font color=blue>

I am not surprised that there are only two contributors to the forum who understand the insurance situation. It would be one sad yachting forum if we were all insurance experts.

<font color=blue>if people make no effort to understand what they are buying, they are going to suffer. How much effort do you put into buying a boat or car. I'd bet, if you are a fairly typical consumer, you research in depth. If you stand to lose the whole value of your boat or car if you have the wrong policy, which doesn't cover you for you typical use, do you go to the same effort to research the insurance you are buying, or just go for the cheapest</font color=blue>

As a consumer I do not wish to have a detailed knowledge of the financial structures in the insurance industry. I just want a policy that provides the cover I need at a fair and stable price.

<font color=blue> you shouldn't have to have a detailed knowledge, but it helps to explain why premiums are going up. People keep complaining about 15% to 130% premium increases on these forums, so I thought it might help to understand why they are increasing. The prices companies are charging might be fair. As to stable, that depends on the markets, and until someone comes up with a better system it's always going to vary according to the market.</font color=blue>

If my insurance company slapped a 40% premium increase on me without any attempt to explain it I would feel quite entitled to take it as an personal insult.
<font color=blue> how should they explain the increase. It's not easy to explain this market to people who understand it. Explaining the true details would be so complicated that few would understand it. Putting it into simple terms, as some have done, lays them open to further misunderstanding.</font color=blue>

Being collectively one of the largest holdings of shares, with automatic sell triggers etc. the insurance industry is perhaps as responsible for the current stock market falls as anyone. Partly creating their current financial problems as a result.

<font color=blue> the selling 'triggers' are not of the insurance companies making. The FSA (an independent regulatory body) introduced these measures to protect consumers so that insurance companies were seen to hold sufficient assets to cover their liabilities. What the FSA didn't foresee was the stock market dropping so low that most if not all companies would be affected to a greater or lesser extent, and the spiral of sell and market drop this would instigate. This is why the FSA are relaxing controls to stop this situation.</font color=blue>

Are the days of shopping around really over? Each year (including this year) I make a couple of enquiries with other companies and there is always a 20% to 25% difference between the lowest and highest quote for the same cover.

<font color=blue> of course not, if you look at one of my previous posts this evening, I explained that there are always situtations in which one particular broker or insurance company will give an individual a better deal </font color=blue>



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[jac]

Another factor that no-one has mentioned yet is the rise in personal injury claims through no-win no fee solicitors trying to sue the pants of anyone. Let face it an insurance claim even for a yact write off is measured in 10s of thousands. 3rd Party liability claims can run to 100s of thousands if not millions.

ALl comes down to greed IMHO.

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[BrendanS]

Re: Bizarre then

I've never denied that point, nor made any posts to discourage it. I've been trying to stir up some interest in why there have been so many forum posts in recent months around the theme of : my insurance has gone up xxx%

Premiums are going up in general, and I've tried to explain why, but everyone can shop around for a better deal. There is always a better deal to be had than the one you have at present, even if it means going back to your existing insurer with a quote from an alternative supplier.

My biggest point is that many people are looking at insurance from a very singular perspective. 'My insurance is going up, therefore I'm being ripped off'

What I've been trying to explain is that while you can always get a better deal, insurance on the whole, is becoming more expensive for a whole variety of reasons.



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[Chris_Robb]

Re: Should I get a survey

Ken, I cancelled my Pants insurance early (expiry was June) and moved to Navigators. They accepted a 1997 dutch survey plus my annual maintenance schedules which shows that everythung gets checked and dealt with where necessary.

The Policy is £595 as against Pants last year of £620. ( Insured Value of £80,000)

I also think that certain parts of the policy are better in comparison with Pants who have a new for old deduction clause, where anything other than the hull - if it is over 10 years old has a 30% deduction made on parts.

So if I lost the rig and all sails up at the time, the bill might be as much as £20K of which I will have to find £6500 from my pocket. Navigators will replace with no deduction, provided you are insured to a proper value as ther is an average clause in the policy. (a good thing as otherwise you end up subsidizing those who do not put an adequate vale on thor boat. (Market Value is rarely sufficient)

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[AlexL]

Actually The no of PI claims in the UK is DECREASING dispite what the press will lead you to believe in their campaign against the legal profession (perhaps the press would like peoples right to sue removed for some reason!). Most of the 'Ambulance Chasers' are not solicitors but companies like Claims Direct et al.
Many organisations (esp public service - NHS for example) find it simple to blame their financial situation on the legal profession and law suits, however the statistics just do not bear out the claims. Yes I have a vested interest as my fiancee is a solicitor who worked very hard to get where she is, and finds it quite upsetting that her and her profession are viewed like this, but the facts belie the claims.
However as stated before the main link for insurance premiums is the investment cycle (i.e the stock market) and not the amount of claims. As the market has been on an inexorable rise since 1974,most of us did not 'see' the reduced premiums due to high investment returns as anything other than normal business

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